Recollections of a Beloved Sister, Interspersed with Reflections Addressed to Her Own Children
Derby: Henry Mozley and Son, 1830. Second British edition. There was also a Boston edition published in 1829 by Munroe and Francis. All editions are scarce. OCLC locates two copies of the present edition (British Library; Heinz Historical Center in Pennsylvania) and no copies of either the first British edition or the Boston edition. With engraved frontisportrait. Some dampstaining to boards and rubbing to label. Contemporary pencil signature, plus ink signature, dated 1869, to front flyleaf. Light foxing to front and back matter. Some dust soiling and toning to leaves. A very good, tight copy of a scarce work. Original drab boards, blue cloth spine, and paper spine label. Octavo. 152 pp. Item #16903
The present work is a social history narrated by a woman mourning the death of her sister, Sophy, “a delicate and high-minded female, exposed early in life to all the dangers of the world, yet threading all its intricate mazes with a firm step and upright demeanor,” (p. 7). The narrator tells Sophy’s life story to her children as an instructive view into the social roles of women and the morality expected of them. The work is a follow-up to the children’s book Little Sophy (ca. 1827).
Along with her didactic fiction for children, Jane Wayland (d. ca. 1847) was also the author of works for adults including Dependence (1830) and Recollections of Real Life in England (1848). The latter work was published posthumously with an introduction by her husband Francis Wayland, the fourth president of Brown University (1796 – 1865). In Recollections, Wayland reflects on her life in England before she left for the United States. Methodist Review, vol. 30 (1848), p. 477.
Price: $200.00